Be at peace among yourselves. And we exhort you, brethren, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all. See that none of you repays evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to all. Rejoice always, pray constantly, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 1 Thessalonians, 5:13-18 Denise slowly tried to open her eyes but then quickly closed them when she felt the sharp throbbing pain in her temples. She took a deep breath and forced her heavy eyelids open. She stared at the white ceiling and prayed she was looking at clouds.
"Lord, please let me be dead", she whispered slowly before closing her eyes back shut. She wondered if people still got headaches once they were in Heaven because her temples were throbbing. Or maybe this wasn't Heaven and this was one of the first punishments she would get.
"Your not dead, girl."
Denise turned her head slightly to the left and was surprised to see Annie sitting in the chair beside the bed. Denise focused her eyes and lifted her head just enough to glance around the room. She had no idea where she was.
"Where…where am I?" Denise's mouth felt as though she had been eating sand and she barely had enough moisture on her tongue to wet her lips.
"Your in the hospital, Denise", replied Annie as she stood up and put her hand on Denise's arm.
"Hospital? What am I doing here?"
"You passed out… but we were afraid it was much worse so we took you to the emergency room."
In a sweeping wave everything came back to Denise. She wanted to cry but was too exhausted. She wanted to get up but her head hurt too much. She just closed her eyes and slowly shook her head from side to side in the big pillow. She felt Annie's hand softly touching her forehead and then stroking her hair back. She was surprised at her sister's affection and glad she was there. She slowly reopened her eyes and stared back at the ceiling.
"Where are my children?" she asked slowly, now getting a lump in her throat.
"Lindsey and Tabitha are home with Mama. Mama went home to change clothes. They left about an hour ago but should be back soon."
"And Michael?"
Annie was surprised Denise asked about Michael and reached out with her other arm to hold her hand.
"He's in the waiting room. He's just been sitting there all this time. I'm surprised he hasn't slept since he's been here."
Denise looked up at Annie with a frown.
"Slept? What do you mean?...How long have I been here?"
